You'll Always Have Liquor
by Serenity12
Summary: An alternative take on what could have happened when Yusuke returned from his final trip to Demon World. Things change, people grow up, but liquor, ah, warm old liquor, now that's something a boy can count on. Warning: mild language
1. Chapter 1: Careful what you count on

She wasn't there.

Yusuke had a grin on his face and laughter in his voice, but even through all the trials he'd endured, he'd never felt himself struggle so much, all just to keep the uncertainty out of his eyes as he glanced around the mostly deserted beach.

Kuwabara, that big oaf, had his thick arm around his neck in a second, messing up his hair and yelling in that obnoxious voice of his. He looked older now, more fitting to the role of a young man. Still, Yusuke preferred think, with a smirk on his face, that the only thing different was that he somehow managed to get uglier in his time away.

Kurama patiently waited for his turn, smiling that knowing beam of his, just like always. It didn't surprise Yusuke that Hiei wasn't involved in the group gathering, for all he knew the little rascal had finally managed to cut ties with them completely. He doubted it though.

Trust it to Botan to get all sentimental on him. She stood right next to Kuwabara with annoying little tears in her eyes and her hands clasped in joy. She had that same old dumb smile on her face, babbling on about how glad they were that he was home, he was safe, yada yada. She knew just how to make a show of a small deal.

Shizuru and Yukina had showed up too, but he didn't take that much notice to them. Sure, Shizuru always proved hilarious to watch when she was giving Kuwabara a much deserved ass whooping, and Yukina had always been nothing but polite and nice to him, but those things weren't important at the moment. Not while his eyes were still searching for her face, for that pretty smile of hers to welcome him home.

Ok, so to be fair, nobody expected him to show up out of the blue, there was really no reason for him to expect any sort of special attention for his return, but he had been told that today Genkai arranged her Will and had called the group together for the event. She should have showed up for that, she wouldn't have missed it for anything. He knew her better than that.

Besides, he'd promised her he would come back, so she probably would have wanted to talk to Kurama to see how he was doing. She was still waiting, just like last time, all those years ago, when her waiting had been a deciding factor in whether his soul had a body to return to or not. Now she had promised to wait again. At least, he thought that was the way the conversation had gone.

Yusuke tried to grasp the memory of his last night with her, but Kuwabara's annoying baffle kept getting in the way. He recalled going to the restaurant, and she, reluctantly, made him food, and they talked. He told her he would be back, and when he returned, they'd get married, and this time he meant it, for the most part.

Suddenly he couldn't remember if she had given her word to wait for him though. His memory seemed to say that she never gave him a straight answer, but Yusuke reasoned that he was just remembering wrong. Tons of head injuries while fighting will do that to a guy.

"Yeah yeah, get off me, you dumb oaf." Yusuke grinned as he playfully shoved Kuwabara's arm off of him. He shoved a hand into his pocket, taking his usual stance as he shifted his backpack, "So, where's the rest of the gang, huh?"

"Hiei is still in the demon world. He's made no comment on it, but I get the feeling he plans to spend more time there, though I'm sure he would of liked to see your return." Kurama explained in his usual calm demeanor, an amused smile on his expression.

Yusuke felt a smirk tug at the edge of his lips, "Yeah, probably just didn't want us to see him get all sappy over me coming home. You know emotional that little guy gets." The group gave a small chuckle at the thought. Yusuke jerked his head to the side a little, trying his best to appear casual as he got to his main point, "So what about Keiko?"

He couldn't ignore how stale the air became as their eyes glanced down, awkward and knowing, away from him. It was as if everyone felt an enormous amount of guilt. Or pity.

"Ah, well, we haven't really talked to her in awhile now." Botan admitted, her voice strained as it struggled to be upbeat. She waved a hand frantically, as though to shoo away the thought. "I'm sure she's just busy though! What with schooling and all. I hear it's quite a bit of work! Kuwabara's been doing rather well in his studies though, haven't you Kuwabara?"

His orange-haired friend gave a big, goofy grin, rubbing his nose as he said with an air of pride, "Well, I don't like to brag, but-"

"Then don't. Not like I'll believe it anyway." Yusuke scoffed, ending his statement.

"Hey! I'll let you know that I'm one of the top in my class Urameshi!" Kuwabara shot back, taking an offensive position.

"Ha! You must be in one stupid class then!"

Their arguments were common; merely apart of the odd friendship the two had developed by working alongside each other. Then again, maybe it started before that, back when they fought on a daily basis, back when Yusukes death brought Kuwabara to such a state that he had to be dragged away from his wake. It seemed like fighting had always been in his life, every aspect of it. In his home and on his streets, even seeping into his relationships.

He fought with her all the time, too. Only because she overacted though, it was so typical of her. There he was trying to do her a favor by pointing out when she gained too much weight, or when her clothes made her look like an uptight bitch, and she repaid him by yelling at him and complaining about his so-called "insensitivity". Yusuke didn't care how she looked, not much anyway, but he knew she did. She cared what those stupid people in school thought about her, how strangers in the street saw her. It made no sense to freak out on him when he was just trying to help her out; she was the one who was so worried about her looks, after all.

Yusuke didn't bother bringing her up again. Something hadn't of seemed right about the way Botan talked about her, but if it was really that important, they would have told him. He gave them that much credit.

The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing and catching up, laughter exploding from the group every few minutes as they swamped stories. They even went to visit Genkai again, and Yusuke had to admit he had missed the old hag. Kuwabara found a few bottles of sake she had kept tucked away, and though Genkai's words had been somewhere along the lines of "put those back you dumb ass", the whole group drank and chatted merrily throughout the night. No one seemed to notice how Yusuke took a few extra swings then anyone else, but then again, after all the drinking games they played, it was pretty hard to keep count who had how much of what.

Yusuke had passed out before the party dispersed. He seemed to remember saying something insulting to Kuwabara before his exhaustion got the best of him, but everything after that was a blur. The peaceful sound of morning birds woke him up, and he groaned, pulling the covers over his head as he tried to escape the suns irritating rays of light. His head burned, and every little sound that usually would be ignorable enough blared loud and obnoxious. The sharp chirping of birds may as well have been a painful screeching, and the rush of a running faucet brought out the sudden urge to pee. He gave another groan, twisting under the covers as he squeezed his legs together in an attempt to block out the physical need in return for more rest.

Yusuke usually won fights, be it by luck or determination, which was comparable only to his stubborn attitude and ignorance. That only worked to his advantage when he fought against other people though. He had no chance against his own body, especially when it was threatening to spill pee all over himself.

So he gave up. Grumbling, Yusuke forced himself to sit up in bed, stretching and scratching as he let loose a long yawn. He tried to rub the fatigue from his eyes and look around, momentarily displaced as he stared at the sunbathed room. His eyes were squinted to such a degree that they looked like mere slivers, a reaction to the pain due to excess sunlight that seemed to pour into every corner of the room. It occurred to him what had happened last night, and as his mind processed the previous events, he assumed that he must be in one of the many rooms at Genkais' temple. Actually, the more aware he grew, the more he came to realize rooms faint familiarity. If right, memories placed it as the same one he'd slept in while training under the old master, all those years ago.

His reason for dragging himself off of the comfortable pillow interrupted the de-ja-vu. Stumbling to his feet, Yusuke ran a hand through his mess of bed hair as he made his way to the bathroom, trying to ignore his raging headache as he did so.

"I see you've finally graced us with your presence, you lazy drunk."

"Can it old lady. I gotta piss."

Genkai may have given him a response, but if she did, he didn't hear it. When the relieving business had been well taken care of, he opened the door to see her sipping tea silently, apparently deep in thought. He sat, legs crossed, on a mat in full view of her.

"So. Some party last night."

Her eyes were closed in what Yusuke could only assume to be some sort of meditation, but being the considerate lady she was, she still managed to huff out, "Yes, you and the idiot were able to empty my entire supply of sake. You should be proud of yourselves."

"Where is Kuwabara anyway?"

"Gone." She took another sip of her tea, "Fool forgot he still had school today. He's lucky Yukinas' kindness got the better of her and woke him in time to not be late."

"I'm sure Kazuma's excitement over your return just made him forget, Yusuke. All of us are happy to have you back." Yukinas' tender little voice spoke as she entered from the other room, having caught the last bit of the conversation. She smiled, and Yusuke took notice to how much more human she'd become. Her hair was twisted into a clean little braid, and she wore loose, modern clothing. He was pretty sure it was the first time he'd seen her without her tiny blue kimono on, or maybe she'd been wearing normal clothes yesterday too. He couldn't quite remember.

"Oh, hey Yukina, what's up?"

" I was just preparing some lunch for me and Genkai. Would you like anything to eat?"

"Yeah, sure." He blinked after her as she smiled and turned back towards the kitchen. She really was a very kind girl. "So, what's up with Hiei? He tell his little secret yet?" Yusuke murmured as he eyed the kitchen, the sounds of cooking rising from it.

"No. He's a fool to think she doesn't already know though." Genkai spoke, her tone suggesting she held little interest for the conversation.

"What! She knows?" He averted his attention back to the martial artist, his eyes wide as he stared at her, "Did you tell her?"

Genkai gave off another huff, as though the thought was ridiculous, "Of course not. It's none of my concern if Hiei wants to hide from her. The girl figured it out on her own, I can tell by the way she looks at him. She's just waiting for him to come to his senses."

"Huh…" He crossed his arms against his chest, looking to the ground as he muttered, "Guess I've missed a lot while I was gone…"

The old master opened her eyes, looking at him silently with an odd, wise gaze. A few moments passed before Yusuke noticed her scrutiny, and his face grew uncomfortable, snapping at her in an aggravated tone, "What?"

She closed her eyes again, raising the cup to her lips, "Hmpf. Nothing."

He scowled, shouting as placed his hands on his knees and leaned towards her, "You crazy old bat! What is it? Why has everyone been giving me weird looks since I got back?"

"I see your temper hasn't changed in your absence. Too bad. I hoped all the ass kicking you got would have taught you to watch your tongue."

Before Yusuke could give his response, Yukina entered the room, carrying two trays of food stacked on top of each other. She paused, bowing her head slightly as she spoke, "Oh! I'm sorry…am I interrupting?"

"Not at all Yukina. Come on in." Genkai spoke, her tone warmer as she set down her cup.

The koorime nodded, walking gracefully as she balanced the trays, and sat on her knees next to Genkai first, serving her food in an almost professional manner. She then moved onto setting Yusukes tray down in front of him, her red eyes looking up at him cautiously, "I'm afraid I don't know what sort of food you enjoy, Yusuke. I hope this will do."

He looked down at her, a bit at loss of how to respond, then smiled, lifting his chopsticks and tucking a large piece of meat in his mouth, chewing blissfully as he mumbled in a happy tone, "Mmm! It's delicious!" He swallowed, speaking more clearly this time, "Some of the best food I've ever tasted!"

Her young, pale face lit up at the compliment, "Really?"

"Definitely!" Yusuke took another bit, as though to emphasize his words, "Kuwabara's one lucky man!"

Yukina shook her head, "Oh no! Kazuma's a wonderful cook! He's made me dinner on quite a few occasions. He's really very kind."

"Oh has he now?" Yusuke snickered, unable to suppress the grin on his face. He could just picture it, Kuwabara in an apron, trying to move his way around Genkais' tiny kitchen, scratching his head as he tried to follow recipes that inevitably resulted in puffs of smoke. His snickering grew to outright laughter, "I'll have to have him cook for me sometime!"

She smiled, placing her hands in her lap as she said, "Keiko told me you're very good at cooking too, Yusuke."

His laughter stopped, nearly abruptly. Suddenly last night wasn't so foggy, the uneasy feelings of Keikos absence returning, "…She told you that, huh?"

Yukina nodded, her smile still in place, "She said you were the best! Kazuma has been teaching me what he knows about cooking, but from what Keiko says about your food, I would love to learn from you too." Her smile fell for a moment, adding quickly, "If that's ok, that is. I know you're very busy."

Yusuke grinned, puffing out his chest a little in pride and giving off a laugh, "The best? Well, can't argue with that. Sure, I'll give you some pointers some time! Like I said though," He took another mouthful of food, chewing before swallowing and giving her a big, satisfied smile, "Delicious!"

She smiled again, for his agreement more than the compliment, "Thank you, Yusuke!"

"Yukina, aren't you going to have anything to eat?" Genkai spoke gently before taking a drink.

"Oh! Yes, of course. Excuse me, please!" She said as she rose to her feet, making her way back to the kitchen.

Yusuke sat looking utterly pleased as he ate. So, Keiko had said his cooking was the best, huh? He knew she liked his cooking, she always ate it at least, but her responses were always a little bland when he asked her what she thought.

"I'll bet she was just jealous because I did something better than her for once!"He thought aloud to himself, and gave another snicker. Genkai paid no mind to him, so he kept going, chewing then swallowing then grinning, "I can't wait to tell her that I know her little secret!"

_Well…_His tone was soft as he thought to himself_,_ _I guess I'll have plenty of time to cook for her, now that I'm back…_

The crone was silent, her eyes on her tray, acting as though the boy wasn't in the room. Once Yukina returned with her own food, the rest of the meal went on in comfortable silence, everyone too preoccupied with their own thoughts to contribute to conversation.

After eating, Yusuke stretched, standing as he spoke, "Well, thanks you guys, but I better get going."

"Your bag is by the door, Yusuke."

"Thanks Yukina." He walked to the door and swung the bag over his shoulder, pulling on its straps, "Bye kid, later Granny!"

"Hmpf. Get out."

"Be safe!"

With a laugh, he waved and started his way back home to his apartment. Once entering the city, he was pleased to find that only a few people turned their heads in fright at his mere presence. Yusuke supposed that the junior high school students that had once trembled at his very name were either over him or forgotten him completely while his was away, which was fine. Let the crown of delinquents be passed down already, he'd worn it long enough.

The young man paused, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Sarayashiki Junior High School stood in front him, deserted, for the most part. The sound of whistles being blown as couches trained their athletes behind the school was the only thing that piercing the otherwise quiet grounds. A couple of young girls came out of the building, giggling as they carried a couple of flutes with them. They chatted happily and paid no mind to Yusuke as they passed him, and didn't notice when he looked after them, his lips pressed in a hard, thin line.

The Urameshi family wasn't good at this, the whole emotional thing. His mother always kept a safe emotional distance from life itself, and his father had went and scrammed out of town when he was faced with an emotional challenge. Yusuke, too, never handled emotion in the best way, and wasn't so great at the maturity thing either. Still, somehow, he had managed to do it. He had matured, everyone around him had.

For a moment, Yusuke wondered mildly if he should go back. Get the education society said he had to have, now that he knew everything that he should of known back then. Now that he had ruled a demon country, now that he had saved the earth more times than once.

He dropped the idea almost as quickly as it had formed. _Stupid._

"Yusuke!"

So close to getting away, and here he thought he would be able to get through the entire town without someone calling attention to him. Yusuke sighed and turned back towards the school, surprised to find his old teacher walking towards him. It brought back memories.

"Oh, sorry. What'd I do now? Ditch school, steal someones lunch money? Or maybe I finally beat the shit out of Akashi, that would be nice." He grinned to the older man, taking a sort of sick pleasure in the way he shook his head in disappointment.

"Still such a punk…" The man mumbled before allowing a smile on his old, wise features, "Then again, maybe that's just all part of the act."

"What the hell are you talking about Takenaka?" Yusuke scowled at him. That geezer always did know how to frustrate him, ever since he was young.

The teacher looked back towards the school building, as though in thought, "I heard you went to America. Got in too much trouble here, so you had to start over, in another country, no less!"

Ignoring the youngsters' huff, he continued, "I saw you while I was up in my office, staring at the school. I wasn't sure it was you at first, to be honest. You still look the same, but not quite. No…the way you stood, the look in your eyes was much different than before."

Yusuke shifted, a bit uncomfortable. Takenaka looked back to him, one brow lifted in an almost amused gesture.

"Yeah, well-"

"I never thought you'd make it to 18, Yusuke." The older man interrupted him, his tone tight and serious.

It was these kinds of conversations that Yusuke hated.

"You were just such a troubled kid…" He ran a hand over his stiff, graying hair, "I always hoped you'd make something of yourself, but I never had faith that you would. I always assumed you would be killed in some kind of gang involvement. Then you went and died for a little boy, and by some miracle, came back to life!"

Yusuke sighed, growing agitated. The old man had no idea what that day had actually been for him.

Before he could open his mouth and say anything though, Takenaka was at it again. He seemed to be rambling.

"Nothing had changed though! You were still such a troublemaker headed for disaster. Always disrespectful, always missing school…when your mother told us you were leaving, I thought to myself, this is it. The next time I see that boy will be at his funeral, and this time, he won't come back. I was entirely prepared to accept the fact that you would never be anything more than a delinquent."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm not finished, Yusuke." He smiled, and his eyes crinkled, "Looking at you now, I see I was wrong. You lived, and to be completely honest, you don't seem to have turned out half bad." He laughed, an old, gruff sound, "Look at you! Now that's the stance of a man, of someone who can do something in life! I don't know what you went through in America, Yusuke, but I'm glad you did. It saved your life. I truly believe that."

Yusuke blinked, his mouth twisted in a grimace, slowly morphing into a grin. So, fighting demons and risking his life on numerous occasions actually saved him, huh? Interesting.

"Crazy old man." He smiled as he said it, meeting his eye. A sort of respect sat just underneath the layer of insult, and in the back of his head, he noted how, for once, the teacher was right. When he looked at Takenaka now, he wasn't looking up. It was equal ground.

The man who had spent countless school hours trying to knock some sense into that thick of Yusukes gave a little smirk. He wouldn't need to lecture him anymore.

Takenaka coughed, clearing his throat before standing a bit straighter, returning to his professional, but somehow warm, tone, "Well then. I suppose that was all I wanted to say. Now then, stop loitering around my school, !"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't have a heart attack, I'm going."

He could feel Takenakas' eyes on his back as he walked away. It seemed he did a lot of that, now that he thought about it. Walked away from the people that actually thought he could make it in life. He would of thought about it some more, if he had cared, but he didn't need their reassurance. Not anymore, anyway.

With a hand held tightly to the string of the bag still lugged over his shoulder, Yusuke continued his way towards home, walking a bit slower than usual. Now and then he noticed a new shop, and the owners would wave happily to him, hoping for a customer. There was something new. He smiled back, gave a short wave, but kept going. It was nice to have the option of going into a store without being glared at, at least.

He began thinking of what he wanted to do after he got home, since his mother would most likely be gone, and his head still ached a little bit from last night. Yusuke didn't want more sleep though. He'd had enough of that. Now was time to play.

"Wonder when Kuwabara gets out of school…" He mumbled, suddenly reminded of his old friend when he saw the form of a school girl waiting at the crosswalk, dressed in a loose, green uniform. Her hair was long and shined a very familiar shade of brown. Yusuke continued to stare as he walked, though his footsteps slowed a little with each second, until he was standing in shock, gaping like an idiot.

"Keiko?" He wasn't close enough for her to hear him, which was fine. Yusuke grinned, appraising her from afar while he could still get away with it. Keiko always did know how to grow in all the right places.

"Oi! K-"

"Keiko!"

Yusuke blinked, his hand halted in mid wave as he watched Keiko turn away from him, towards the voice that had called out to her first. It belonged to a young man wearing a similar, male version of her uniform. He couldn't hear them speak, but he saw each expression she made, a look of surprise as she stared at the panting boy.

It was odd, just standing there, watching the scene unfold before him. Yusuke couldn't recall ever having to deal with any guy friends of Keikos. She'd always stuck to her small group of **female** friends, and he had liked it that way. Now, watching as the boy offered her a large envelope, he wasn't exactly sure what the emotions rattling around his head were.

She pulled out a piece of paper from the envelope, and as she read, her mouth began to fall open and her brown eyes bugged. The expression of shock quickly switched to large grin as she threw her arms around the boys neck, causing a blush to race across his face. Yusuke didn't miss the grin that followed as he wrapped his arms around her. He could hear her shouting, a sound of glee as she hugged him, "I can't believe it! Hiroshi, thank you, thank you!"

He laughed, his reply not loud enough for Yusuke to make out the words, and suddenly Keiko was off of him, her hands folded in front of her as she looked down to the ground, nearly her entire face a nice, ripe red.

Hiroshi smiled down at her kindly. The crosswalk had already turned green, and he had the nerve to grab her hand, pulling her gently along with him.

Yusuke waited for Keiko to get mad and beat him, to give that little creep one of her famous power punches. She didn't though. Instead, she looked up, her surprise fading to a smile. Their fingers intertwined as they walked side by side, and from what he could see, it seemed very natural for them.

Yusuke stood, staring at their backs until they disappeared amongst the crowd. He felt his breath grow thick.

Keiko had never said she'd wait. The only word she'd given him was that she would introduce him to her new boyfriend. Somehow, Yusuke had forgotten that.

His body curved into itself, offering protection from the too-difficult-to-deal-with emotions ripping at his chest as he began to walk again. Suddenly there was no doubt as to what it was he wanted to do with his free time. Yusuke could already feel the liquor burning his throat.

At least his mother would have a drinking buddy tonight.

* * *

_Authors Note: This was just a what-if situation that had popped in my head. It may or may not be continued depending on how people respond to it and if I myself feel like continuing it. Shout out some ideas if you want! =)_


	2. Chapter 2: Surprise, surprise

"Get up."

Yusuke could just barely make out his mothers voice among the hazy smoke that seemed to surround his head, making his throat warm and dry and difficult for him to produce anything more than a groan. He was roughly aware of a foot nudging against his side, but then again, his senses had become so dull it was hard to tell what was happening anymore.

Still, something-more than likely the urge to relieve his need for a bathroom-gave him the strength to prop himself up, his arms faltering slightly from the effort. Eventually he came to a sitting position, rubbing his sore eyes and trying to smack away the decaying taste that had gathered in his mouth from a day or two of no brushing.

"Good. Now get out."

"You always were the loving mother," Yusuke grumbled as he attempted to stumble to his feet. His effort ended up in vain as he felt two hands on his shoulders push him back down, his only response a long, groggy blink in his mother's direction.

"You won't do this, understand?" Atsuko screamed at him, shaking his body as tears began to fill her brown eyes, "You won't be like me! You've been drinking every night for a month! You can't do this Yusuke, you can't-" Her words became a large mess of blubber as she continued to sob, "You can't…be like…me."

Her last word stretched into a long, shrieking whine, and still all Yusuke could do was stare with tired puzzlement at the woman who was crying on his shoulder. After a few moments of observation, he realized that his mother was wearing fresh, unwrinkled clothes, and her usually tangled hair looked smooth and had a little bit of a shine to it, as though it had been taken proper care of. It took even longer for him to look up and around the room, which in his memory had always been littered with beer bottles, cigarette butts, and multiple other types of garbage. It had looked no different when he had first come home, but now, as he looked on over his mother's still-trembling shoulders, the apartment was cleaner than he'd ever seen it. Slowly he began to process what all of it meant, and grew angry as he came to the conclusion.

_Great. Just when I need her drunk the most, my mom decides to sober up._ Yusuke nudged his mother off of him, not bothering to suppress his irritated grimace as he stumbled to the bathroom, muttering under his breath with a flickering hiss, "Yeah, just fucking great. Can't depend on anything these days."

"Yusuke!"His mother was cut off with a curt door slam, only able to stare wide-eyed as the walls shook from her son's force, causing hung picture frames to crash to the floor. Yusuke felt the heat in his chest as he leaned against the bathroom counter, glaring into the eyes of his disheveled reflection, despising every ounce of what he saw.

"What's wrong with me?" he managed to sneer out between his clenched teeth, "What, huh?" His voice began to raise, yelling at his mirrored counterpart as if it would respond, "What was so wrong with me, damn it! Can't anything go my way one fucking time!"

Yusuke stared, his teeth grinding against each other as he snarled into the glass. His arms shook, his chest rose and fell in a violent pattern, and a feeling of vulnerability caused his defenses to rise and prepare for whatever the world planned to hurl at him next. He felt like the boy he used to be, a 14-year-old punk who not even the Spirit World cared about enough to keep track of. Always fighting, always trying to get everyone off of his back, never satisfied with how his life was turning out.

"Damn it." He finally grunted, turning to the shower to wash the caked on cigarette tar from his skin.

* * *

"So what are you going to do now?"

Keiko glanced up from her food, chewing thoughtfully before letting it slide down her throat, "I think the best thing to do would be to go ahead and apply at the University."

Hiroshi, a boy of fair skin and light auburn hair, looked mournfully at the glossed restaurant table, "It's so far away…"

He watched as a dainty, pale hand reached over to grasp his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll take the bus to see you every weekend, I promise." She smiled, her brown eyes gazing at him sweetly, and he returned the gesture, intertwining their fingers, enjoying the warmth he felt against her skin.

"No, you won't. You'll be too busy with studies." Keiko opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off with a halting hand, "That's ok though, I understand. I'll just have to be the one who visits _you_ instead."

They were quiet for a moment, and then began to chuckle happily, Keiko wiggling a playful finger towards him, "Well, I wouldn't be going at all if you didn't get me that scholarship."

"_I _didn't do anything. You wrote the genius essay, I just delivered it to the right hands." Hiroshi lifted his hands in an innocent gesture, waving them about slightly in exaggerated movements.

Keiko smiled, her gaze turning tender, "Still, it was very sweet."

The couple stared at each other with smiles on their faces and delighted little sparks in their eyes, relishing the delight of each other's company. It occurred to them that they were in a public place, and nearly simultaneously they looked down, a blush grazing their cheeks as they exchanged nervous laughs. Hiroshi was the first to look up again, pleased by the adorable red hue shading his companions face.

"Hey." He interrupted their silence, causing Keiko to look back up at him. Hiroshi smiled, his voice gaining a soft edge to it, "Why don't we go see a movie after this?"

Keiko returned his smile, nodding her head in agreement, "Sure, how about the new foreign film? It's gotten really nice reviews and…"

The couple continued to chat carelessly, their topics ranging from movies, to school, to silly stories from their past. When their plates were emptied and their conversation finally began to form a gap, Hiroshi thanked their waiter and glanced down at their bill.

"Well, we should get going, I think we can catch a 7 o'clock movie if we hurry."

Keiko nodded, gathering her coat and purse, throwing a casual glance out the window to where the sunlight was beginning to dim. She wondered briefly if she should dismiss herself directly after the film in order to get an early night's rest; after all she had a lot of work to do tomorrow. There was duty in the Ramen Shop, a meeting with her Senior Board for graduation celebrations, and of course the matter of her application essay which would need to be completely revised if she was going to send it in to the University, and-

Her thoughts paused, frozen by shock, as her eyes lay glued to the building across the street. It might have been her imagination. She tried to convince herself that it was, but those green highlights seemed all too familiar and the way that body moved brought back a the flood of memories she had tried to keep dammed.

She wasn't fully aware that she had gotten up from the table, didn't notice how she ran to the restaurant's entrance and gripped the doorframe with all of her might. She probably looked just a little crazy, standing in the doorway with her eyes shifting frantically as they searched through the crowd. At that moment, though, all her mind could register was a name, a single name that had held so much meaning to her years ago.

"Yusuke…"

He wasn't there. Maybe she had missed him, or maybe he really had been a figment of her mind the whole time; either way she couldn't find him anywhere among the crowd, and people were starting to nudge her out of the way so that they could leave. Hiroshi approached her with a very confused, and very concerned, expression on his features.

"Keiko, what's wrong? Is everything ok?"

She looked up to her companion, her emotions anything but ok, and opened her mouth to offer some feeble assurance that she was fine, "Ah…yes…I'm pretty tired. There's a lot I have to do tomorrow. Do you mind if we see the movie some other time?"

"What? Why?" Hiroshi shifted so that they were standing out on the sidewalk and out of all the customers' ways, his grey eyes baffled at the sudden abnormal behavior.

"There's just a lot I have to do. I didn't think about it before. I'm sorry Hiroshi, some other time ok? Take care."

"Keiko! Hey, wait!" He grabbed her arm as she turned to leave and stepped around her so that he blocked her path, "What's going on? A minute ago you were so excited, and now you're acting all weird, and I wanted to spend time with you before you started getting all wrapped up in the University, and…"

"Hiroshi, please," she pleaded, wishing she could make him understand, "We'll go to the movies tomorrow, I promise. I have to go, I can't be here anymore."

Keiko tried to maneuver her way around the boy, but he sidestepped her, more perplexed than before, "Keiko! Come on, just wait, slow down and tell me what's going on."

"I can't, I'll tell you later, I have to go-"

"Well then at least let me walk you home!"

"No! I can't, I have to be alone right now, I just-"

The words hung tight on her tongue, stuck as she stared across the street in disbelief. In the process of looking away to avoid Hiroshi's hurt gaze, she had met another pair of eyes instead, ones that were cold and guarded, with a brown shade that left her chest aching.

Yusuke stared at them, his expression inscrutable, though the stiff, defensive form of his body gave his emotions away. He didn't know what to do. Another man had his hands on his childhood friend, his best friend, the only person he truly cared about during his early life. Another man had his hands on her and he could rightfully do nothing about it.

He saw Hiroshi turn and follow Keiko's gaze, meeting his eye with an inquisitive stare. Yusuke stared back at him for a moment, then, with his hands in his pockets and his expression still a cool void, turned and melted into the crowd.

"Yusuke…" Keiko breathed the barely audible whisper. She stepped forward once, felt Hiroshi's grip on her slip, and then stepped forward again. Then she sprang, calling out desperately as she ran across the street, "Yusuke!"

The sound of tires screeching against the road filled the air, followed shortly by a loud, horrendous bump.

* * *

"Keiko! Hey Keiko! Wake up you idiot!"

Keiko opened her eyes, taking in the soft glow that surrounded her, stretching endlessly into nothing, not an object in sight.

"What the hell were you thinking? Come on! You're not that stupid!"

She swirled around, her feet dangling in the floorless atmosphere as she gasped, "Yusuke?"

"The Keiko I knew wasn't such an idiot! I'm the type of person who runs into the middle of the street, not you! Now get up!" Yusuke shouted at her, his tone typically masking his concern with anger. Keiko couldn't help but stare at him, at the green middle school uniform he wore, at the deep brown eyes that glared at her.

"Yusuke…you're back…? I'm up…I'm up, Yusuke…" She could feel her voice tighten with unshed emotion, and though she tried to step toward his direction, she found that she couldn't. Each time her feet tried to land and push her forward, it found nothing, no solid ground to walk on. She began to panic, her arms and legs flailing about as she attempted in vain to move from her spot.

"I can't move…I can't move Yusuke! Help me, I can't move!" She reached out her arms to him, but he didn't make any progress towards her. Instead he just stood there, glaring and shouting at her to get up.

"I'm up, I'm up! Now help me!" She became faintly aware of the fact that she was crying, and reached out further, stretching her fingers as far as they would go towards Yusuke.

"Yusuke, you dummy, help me! Help-"

She felt a warm touch against her fingertips, and then her hand was enclosed, held securely in a gentle grasp. Keiko blinked, suddenly looking into a pair of worried, grey eyes.

"Hiroshi?" The tears gathered to the corners of her eyes, resulting in tiny droplets as she gaped at the brown haired boy in front of her. Her eyes grew wide when she realized that there were little tears in his eyes, too.

"Come on Keiko…you can make it…" She stared at him, his face grimaced with pain, and began to reach toward his cheek.

"Hiroshi…"

"Get the hell away from her! Keiko, wake up, damn it!"

Keiko felt an old sensation of irritation fill her veins at the sound of Yusuke's cursing and demanding. She opened her mouth to shout back at him, and tried to take another step forward, "Yusuke, how dare you! I'm awake, you-"

Her foot touched solid ground.

* * *

"…jerk…"

Yusuke blinked, not sure if he could believe what he just heard. He watched every inch of her, and finally, after much too long, saw her head move to the side slightly, her face giving a twitch of life. He only released his breath when he saw her eye lids begin to lift, just barely revealing her foggy eyes.

"Took you long enough…" he muttered, trying his best to sound annoyed. Still, as dazed as Keiko was, she could still make out the softened look of his eyes as they stared down at her. She felt her lips move in an effort to speak, but found they didn't have the strength.

"Is she up? Keiko?" Another familiar voice filled her ears. She shifted her tired eyes to the side and saw Hiroshi walking towards her, his face the picture of relief.

She thought she heard Yusuke grumble something, but didn't have time to wonder about it, Hiroshi's hands suddenly holding her face as he looked at her.

"Hey…" He spoke to her in the gentlest tone, delicately stroking her cheek, "How are you feeling?"

Again Keiko tried to speak, but found she could only move her lips barely half an inch before they appeared to stop working. She closed them again and let her gaze travel back over to Yusuke, who was now leaning against the wall near a door and some chairs, staring vacantly to the side. She felt her lids grow heavy, and though she struggled to stay awake, she slowly drifted into sleep, the image of Yusuke fading from her sight.

* * *

Stupid girl had nearly given him a heart attack. Yusuke could have sworn he felt his heart give its' last pump of blood the moment he saw her lying lifeless on the road, a bunch of idiots surrounding her, the bastard driver trying to say that it wasn't his fault. Yusuke could have killed him.

He didn't though. All he could think of was Keiko, and Botan, and Spirit World, and how he couldn't stand the three to mix together. Keiko was better than that, smarter than that. She would go to college and become a doctor or something. She didn't deserve to die like Yusuke had, young and dumb, over something ultimately pointless.

Stupid ass kid actually tried to keep Yusuke away from her, demanding to know who he was and all that crap. He could have killed that damn Hiroshi too if he didn't know how pissed off Keiko would be when she woke up.

He didn't know when she would wake up though. He didn't know _if_ she would wake up. He just hoped that if he kept yelling at her, she would eventually open her eyes and smack him across the face, just like the good old days.

Then, finally, she did. Yusuke hadn't felt that much relief in a long time.

He left after that. The doctor told him she'd be fine, that she was out of the danger of falling into a coma, yada yada. So he saw no point in staying, just to watch her boy toy gush over her sleeping body.

Nah. He had better things to do, and just because his mom had banned it from the house, didn't mean that he couldn't still do it.

So he walked down to the bar, where everybody knew his name. Or, at least, they were going to.

* * *

_Authors note: A huge thanks to Solomonara for beta-reading my story, and to all of the reviewers out there who had such kind words! I hope this lived up to your expectations...and don't worry, it's not the end of the story yet! _

_In response to recent reviews: I really would love to update this story at a fast pace, but please consider that right now is nearing the end of the school year. I have last minute work to turn in, final exams to study for, etc, so sadly I can't promise a fast update. Not only do I have to find the time to write it, I also need to wait until my Beta reader has time to look over it so you guys get it nice and clean! Despite this disheartening news, I hope you stick with me reviewers, I promise I'll try to make it worth the wait!  
_


	3. Chapter 3: A Promise to Keep

Last time, on Yu Yu Hakusho; You'll Always Have Liquor!

_Yusuke Urameshi returns from his last trip to Demon World, fully intending on carrying out his promise to marry his childhood friend, Keiko Yukimura, upon his return. Much to his shock, however, Keiko has moved on with life, and Yusuke catches a glimpse of her with a man who appears to be her new boyfriend. Yusuke takes to drinking in order to forget about her, but it isn't long before Keiko sees him passing by on the streets and, in disbelief that he's actually back, blindly runs after him. However, her carelessness causes her to be hit by a car and nearly fall into a coma. Thanks to Yusuke staying by her hospital bed and yelling endlessly at her in order to get through to her subconscious, Keiko is able to wake up and recover from her injuries. Yusuke then takes off once again, leaving Keiko's new boyfriend to take care of her while he finds comfort in a nearby bar, and thus our story continues… _

* * *

"He did WHAT?" Kazuma Kuwabara felt his cheeks grow numb as they flushed, showing off an angry hue of red. His sister stood nearby, eyeing the plastic phone that was currently being choked in his grip, ready to beat him to a bloody pulp the moment it suffered so much as a crack. She could faintly hear the sound of a blubbering woman on the other end, her wailing shriek familiar to Shizuru's ears.

"_He's been doing this for almost two weeks! Nothing I do works, I can't even hit him anymore, it's like he doesn't feel a thing!"_ Atsuko whimpered on the other line, "_He hasn't been home in days. I tracked him down to the Kabuto Bar, but he wouldn't leave. You're his friend Kuwabara, talk to him!"_

Kuwabara felt his voice deepen, falling into an imitation of a noble knight as he proclaimed, "You can count on me! I'll get him home, don't you worry!"

Shizuru eyed him skeptically as he hung up, muttering through her burning cigarette, "Just what are you going to do, baby bro? Tie him up and drag him home?"

"Oh, I'll get him home all right! I'll get him home even if I have to beat the beer out of him!" The orange haired male fumed as he fumbled with his jacket, struggling repeatedly to shove his arm through one of the sleeves.

His sister sat down on the living room couch, casually knocking the ash off her cigarette into a nearby tray. "You know that won't work, Kazuma. You've never been able to beat him up in your life."

"That's not true!" Kuwabara's scratchy voice shouted in defense, his already feverish complexion glowing redder, "I've beaten up Urameshi plenty of times! I-"

"Quiet." Shizuru stopped her brothers ranting with a well aimed soda can thrown at his head, "Even if you could beat him up, that wouldn't work. He would just go back to the bar once you left, unless you want to spend the rest of your life with him."

Kuwabara rubbed the growing bump on his head with a growl, stifling his frustration and pain as he looked at his nonchalant sibling. After a moment's consideration, he sat down next to her with a defeated sigh, his hand still resting on his throbbing head, "Well, what do I do then? I mean, Urameshi's one of my best friends, I gotta do somethin'…"

He didn't receive an immediate response as Shizuru took another drag from her nicotine, her gaze set in thought. She let the smoke rush out between her lips and turned her attention back to her brother, speaking to him in a softer tone than before, "Look, Keiko went ahead and got together with someone else, right? Some kid from the all-boys school?"

She watched him shift uncomfortably, his eyes darting to the floor as he muttered, "Well, yeah, I guess so, but I don't know if it's anything serious…"

"Doesn't matter if it's serious or not, the fact is, Yusuke's hurt, and he's acting like a big baby over it." Shizuru stabbed her cigarette into the tray, effectively putting it out, "He's known Keiko since he was still in diapers, and he's letting something like this get between them. Keiko waited on him for a long time, and he had better stuff to do. He needs to just be glad that she has someone who makes her happy now, instead of whining about it like a selfish little brat."

They stared at each other for a good while, Kuwabara's eyebrows wrinkled in thought. Just as the room began to stale over, he spoke in a slow, uncertain tone, "So…you want me to tell Urameshi he's a baby?"

Shizuru felt her eye twitch and watched her younger brother, wondering if she should explain the situation more clearly. Instead she got up and with a wave of her hand dismissed him, "Whatever you want, baby bro."

"H-hey! Wait! Shizuru, what if that doesn't work?" Kuwabara got up to follow her as she made her way to her bedroom.

She didn't even look back as she closed the door, leaving him with only one last bit of advice, "Figure it out."

Kuwabara huffed a bit, scratching his head as he tried to put the pieces together. Slowly his eyes trailed to the phone, and an idea began to take place.

* * *

'_Stupid, rude, inconsiderate, stupid, heartless, __jerk__!_' Keiko Yukimura tried not to think about how Yusuke would have pointed out that she said stupid twice. He was obnoxious enough to do that.

Instead, she tried to hold back little tears of frustration as she stared up at her flat, white ceiling. Nearly two weeks since she'd been out of the hospital and he hadn't bothered to visit her, call her, or even drop a note to make sure she was ok. It was so typical of him not to care.

Keiko rolled over to her side, clutching her pillow to her chest. She didn't want to think about him anymore, not if he was going to ignore her so completely. She buried her face into the soft, feathery pillow and cursed herself repeatedly.

'_I jumped into traffic for him? Have I gone completely insane? Hiroshi would never-_' Keiko paused her own thoughts, blinking down at the floor as she collected herself.

No, Hiroshi never would let her down like that. He proved it by showing up at her hospital room each day, being there when she went home, sending her flowers and chocolates and little stuffed bears. Even at that very moment he was down stairs, helping her parents with the chores she could be doing but wasn't, all because he wanted her to rest. Yet here she was, laying in bed and pouting about another man, as if that were any way to repay his kindness.

Keiko sighed. When she was done, she sighed again, and felt the little tears start to trail down her cheeks. She huddled herself around her pillow and demanded herself to stop crying. It had been working until, by a stroke of unfortunate luck or maternal instinct, her mother walked in.

"Keiko, are you hungry? …Keiko? What's wrong? Is the pain coming back?" Her mother took her place on the bed, stroking back Keiko's hair as her eyes fluttered in concern.

"No…" Keiko muttered, her voice strained as the tears struggled to escape, "I'm fine…"

watched as her daughters face crumbled in front of her and wrapped her arms around her, rocking her back and forth gently as she spoke, "Maybe we should take you back to the hospital…"

"Mom…" Keiko gripped her mothers arm, pulling her close as she let out a small wail, "It's just…Yusuke…"

She pulled herself closer into her mothers' arms, allowing herself to cry a little more as her mom rubbed her hand up and down her back, murmuring her name softly and reassuring her that everything would be ok.

"Yusuke's back…and…" Keiko sniffled, finally gathering her strength as she sat up, "Everything was going so good, Mom. Graduation is soon and I finally have enough scholarship money to go to the University, and me and Hiroshi…" She flopped her hand in the air, letting the sentence fade off before she finally continued, "Yusuke doesn't _care_! He just doesn't care about me at all-he hasn't even called-I don't know why I'm wasting my time…"

hushed her tears as Keiko began to crumble again, patiently waiting for her moment to speak. When it seemed that her daughters ranting was done, she opened her mouth to offer gentle words of encouragement that, unfortunately, never had the chance to be said as a knock at the door interrupted the moment.

Her fathers' rough voice called out from the other side of the door, "Keiko, you've got a phone call! Said his name was Kuwabara!"

Keiko sniffled, lifting her head from her mothers lap as she stared at the door in puzzlement, "Kuwa…bara…?"

* * *

"Thanks for doing this Keiko, I really appreciate it." Kuwabara glanced at her, his hands gripped firmly around the steering wheel of the car.

"Huh?" Keiko jerked herself out of her thoughts, turning her attention back to the situation at hand, "Oh, no…it's no problem."

"Heh heh, yeah, guess any reason for beating Urameshi up is good, huh?" Kuwabara laughed, trying his best to lift the very stiff mood in the car. When he got no response from Keiko, he glanced towards her again, only to see her looking solemnly out the window.

Kuwabara gulped, not sure how he should handle the situation. He shifted nervously in his seat and tried a different approach, "Uh, so, sorry for not, you know, hanging out or anything lately…"

It took Keiko a moment to process his words, staring at him with wide eyes. She blinked, and then offered him a kind smile with a small, awkward laugh as she waved his apology off, "What? Don't be silly Kuwabara! We've both been busy, that's all. Besides, you visited me in the hospital, remember?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess so." Kuwabara returned her smile, and before he could stop himself, blurted out, "You know, I never saw Urameshi while I was there, what, did he visit at night or somethin'?"

Keiko's smile fell almost as quickly as it had formed, her gaze trailing down to her hands which laid properly over her lap, "Um…n-no."

Still wearing his trademark, goofy grin, Kuwabara opened his mouth to press the subject further when the glimmer of Keiko's watering eyes caught his attention. His eyes popped out in panic and his words came out in a frantic flood as he reached out a comforting hand to her, "H-Hey! Don't cry Keiko, I'm sorry! What'd I say?"

The sound of a loud, blaring horn caught Keiko's attention, making her head dart up and her eyes widen in fear, "Kuwabara, watch out!"

"Wha-? Whoa!" Kuwabara quickly turned his attention back to the road, narrowly avoiding an accident, and tried to keep his car under control as it twirled with the grace of an overweight ballerina. Miraculously, the car skidded to a stop neatly beside a sidewalk, and Kuwabara had to admit that if it weren't for the fact that their lives had been endangered he would have thought it was one of the coolest things he'd ever done.

"Eh…heh…" He managed to spurt out as he watched his fingers turn purple from the firm grip he had on the wheel. A glance to his side and he could see Keiko sitting upright, both hands clenching the nearest surface available, her cheeks a hallow little faded blue. For a second Kuwabara thought she looked very similar to a frightened cat.

Then he looked past her, feeling someone staring at him from outside the car, and grew embarrassed as he realized it wasn't just one person, but an entire crowd that gawked at them.

Kuwabara waved his hands frantically as he exclaimed in a loud, forcibly laughing voice, "Ah ha ha ha! Sorry about that folks! Nothing to see here! We're fine, we're fine! Ah ha ha ha!"

"K-k-k-k…" Keiko struggled to say his name, her mouth frozen in a terrified frown, "K-k-k…"

"Ah ha ha ha! Yup, all fine! Nothing to see! Ah ha…ha…" Kuwabara sighed as the crowd began to slowly drift away, though not before tossing him odd looks, and happened to glance at the building they were parked in front of. His face lit up as he shouted happily, "Hey, Keiko! We're here! This is the bar Urameshi's mom was talking about!"

Before he even had a chance to blink, Kuwabara felt a powerful fist ram the side of his head, knocking him over so that he was slumped helplessly against the car door as his eyes swirled in a daze. An angry Keiko hovered over him, frightened tear drops dangling in the corner of her glare.

"KUWBARA, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" She shouted as she continued to pound her fist against him, "You could have killed someone! You could have killed _us_! Where on earth did you learn how to drive? Just wait until I tell your sister about this! I can't believe you!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Keiko, please! I'm sorry! Don't tell Shizuru about this, please! I'm sorry!" Kuwabara cried as he tried to shield himself with his arms, cowering against his side of the car.

"Ow! Please, Keiko! Ah! Look! There's Urameshi, look!" He pointed a frantic finger toward the building and found some relief from the abuse as Keiko paused in mid hit, spinning around to look out her passenger window. Kuwabara risked opening his eyes, and felt his jaw drop as he saw that Yusuke actually was standing there, leaned against the frame of the bar doorway. He had an opened bottle in his hand and a drunk, confused expression, as though he were considering whether it was worth it to stay and watch the situation unfold.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara called out happily, quickly throwing open his car door and running over to the once feared student of Sarayashiki junior high. Yusuke stared at him, his mouth slightly ajar from his intoxicated state.

"What're you do'n here?" He asked slowly, trying to stand tall and proud, but only managing to nearly lose his balance once he was away from the door frames support.

"What do you mean what am I'm doing here? I'm here for you, you big jerk!" Remembering his previous anger, Kuwabara grabbed a handful of Yusuke's blue jacket, shaking him a bit as he yelled, "Do you know how worried your mother has been? She was crying, Urameshi! She says that you haven't been home in days! What kind of son are you? Huh? Answer me, Urameshi!"

At this point, fellow bar dwellers had gathered near the entrance to watch the dramatic display, their hazy minds hoping for a good fight. Yusuke grabbed hold of Kuwabara's hands and with little effort pried himself from his grip, all while yelling in an inebriated slur, "Well she just-should've been drink'n then! Shit, 18 years of her drunk and she goes and all being sober…you just go Kuwawa…Kukuwa…you, you just go before I have ta SPIRIT GUN you…shit, I'll do it too…I dun need this…"

A stunned Keiko watched from the car as Yusuke stumbled back into the dark comfort of the bar, with Kuwabara following close behind, his scratchy voice cursing and nagging at him to come home. The rest of the drunken men watched with only mild interest now, their short attention spans losing interest in the arguing pair of boys when there was no immediate bloodshed. Yusuke took another swing of his beer as Kuwabara continued to yell, interrupting his ferocious speech with a loud, obnoxious belch.

"Look, KuwaBARA! I'll leave whenever I want, and youuuu," The alcohol sloshed around in Yusuke's bottle as he pointed a wavering finger at Kuwabara's nose, "aren't gonna stop me! Now shut up, and grab a beer!"

Kuwabara felt his face flush with frustration as Yusuke reached over the bar counter and grabbed another beer, shoving it in the carrot-tops direction.

The bartender caught sight of this and began to curse at them, to which Yusuke raised his fist and cursed back,

"Hey, hey! Do you know how many times I've saved your sorry ass? Hell, I've saved this whole dumb planet more than once, and you're not gonna give me a drink? Come on!"

"Look pal, I don't care if you think you saved an entire galaxy, if you want my beer you gotta pay up or get your ass out!" The bartender shouted, leaning across the counter in an intimidating gesture.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? Hold my beer Kuwahara, I'll show this jerk not to mess with us!" Yusuke tried to pass his beer off to Kuwabara, but he wouldn't have it, instead letting his own unopened beer bottle clank to the floor as he attempted to restrain Yusuke from hurting the poor bar employee. The rest of the bar customers crowded around and cheered on with glee as Yusuke struggled in Kuwabara's grasp, just barely freeing his hand as he pointed his fingers in the shape of a gun, aiming at the laughing bartender who didn't recognize them as even a faint threat.

"Damn it Kuwabara, let go! I'll teach this guy to laugh at me! SPIRIT-"

"Yusuke Urameshi! Just what do you think you're doing?" A female voice broke through the crowds cheering, a shrill, scolding tone that had every man stiffening and holding their breath like a child in trouble. The men turned towards the source of the shout, surprised to see an angry, tiny teenage girl standing in the bars doorway.

Yusuke blinked slowly, his heart giving a small flip as he saw his once sort-of-fiancé, her frame silhouetted against the sun which poured in from the outside, her hands on her hips, which, to Yusuke, looked curvier than he remembered.

He stumbled from Kuwabara's grasp, holding onto the counter for support as he continued to stare at her, an indubitable goddess who focused her fury on him alone, "Kei…ko…?"

Yusuke watched her blink at him, caught off guard by his vulnerable state, but quickly regained her glare, marching over to him with her usual wrath, "Is this what you've become, Yusuke? A worthless drunk who has nothing better to do than get into bar fights?"

When he didn't answer her, she let out an agitated growl and grabbed the collar of his shirt, "Come on, Yusuke, we're taking you home right now!"

The men of the bar sneered, calling out to Yusuke with mocking sweetness, "See you later, Yuuuusukkke!"

Though Yusuke allowed himself to be tugged helplessly by Keiko, he still rebelled against entering the car, requiring Kuwabara to shove him inside the backseat as though he were a police officer. The ride was silent save for Yusuke's occasional slurs of protest and Keiko's steaming anger, which would hush Yusuke for a moment, only to begin again and repeat the vicious cycle.

A light, digital ring interrupted the awkward atmosphere, causing Yusuke to roll his eyes and poke the back of Kuwabara's head, "OI! Answer your phone! It's annoying!"

"He CAN'T, Yusuke, he's DRIVING! Not everyone is irresponsible, you know!" Keiko retorted, spinning around in her seat to glower at her child hood friend, his body sprawled out against the entire backseat of the car.

Yusuke's only response was to snap his head away from her with a small "Pch," and quickly snatched up Kuwabara's phone, ignoring Keiko's complaint as he flipped it open, and acknowledged the caller with a garbled, "Whadya want?"

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY CAR!" Kuwabara and Keiko jumped at the scream that poured out of the phones small speakers, causing Kuwabara's face to pale quite rapidly.

Yusuke, however, seemed unfazed and casually held out the phone out towards the front of the car, "It's for you."

"Gahhh! Give me that!" Kuwabara frantically spun around in his seat, the car swerving as he did so, forcing Keiko to lunge over to the steering wheel and straighten them out as Kuwabara clumsily grasped the phone.

"SORRYWRONGNUMBEROKBYE!" With a click of the end button, Kuwabara threw the phone down to the floor and snatched the steering wheel back from Keiko, his face in a terrified grimace as he tried to focus on driving.

The phone began its cheerful digital ringing once more, Keiko staring in stiff silence as she watched Kuwabara's despaired expression grow more dread, his knuckles white from the strained grip he held on the steering wheel.

"…Kuwabara?"

"HAHAHAHAHA don't worry everything's fine! Yessiree everything is hunkie dorie! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Keiko felt her nerves freeze in fear at the panicked and slightly insane tone of her friends voice as he struggled to appear upbeat and relaxed.

"Shizuru…" Yusuke slurred from the backseat, pointing a lazy finger towards Kuwabara's direction, "…is gonna kick your ass…AGAIN."

"Shizuru? …Kuwabara, did you ask your sister for her car?"

Kuwabara glanced over to Keiko's, whose eyes stared at him wide in terror, and he felt the nervous sweat trail down his forehead, "Uh, uh, well, I, uh…"

"Oh, no…Kuwabara…" Keiko slumped back in her sear, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief, stopping only to glare at Yusuke as he began a high pitched laughed.

"Honor-code my ass! What kinda guy steals a car from his own sister? HUH, mister WHITE KNIGHT!"

"I DIDN'T STEAL IT! I just, ya know…borrowed it…SHE SAID FOR ME TO FIGURE IT OUT ON MY OWN, OK? It's not like I'm not allowed to use the car for emergencies!"

Keiko sighed and leaned against the door, looking bitterly out the window as she mumbled, "Yusuke's usual stupid antics aren't really an emergency…"

"Oh yeah! Well maybe I should be more like Hiroshi an' wipe your big ass for ya!" Yusuke smashed his face together with his hands and gave a gurgled impression of the boy he had met shortly at the hospital, "Hey Keiko, dun sit up, you'll hurt yourself! Hey Keiko, drink some water! Have another pillow, Keiko! Crush my stupid dignity, Keiko!"

He ignored the absolute rage emitting from Keiko's body as she barred her teeth at him. Yusuke stopped making faces and instead let himself fall back into the backseats in a relaxed state, closing his eyes and huffing out with a loud and obnoxious bellow, "You finally found someone as naggy and annoying as you, Keiko! Congratu-freakin-lations!"

He didn't see how the anger slowly leaked from her face, her eyes watering to the point of vague blindness and clearly giving her away. She snapped her head away from him, and with all the strength she could muster, turned her attention to Kuwabara, "Stop the car. I'll walk home."

Try as she might, her voice still broke with unshed tears, causing Yusuke to open one lazy eye as he looked at her, hurt and angry, ready to open the door and step out whether Kuwabara met her demand or not. Had he been able to concentrate on anything other than the large ringing in his ears, he might have felt like a complete and utter jerk.

Kuwabara was uncharacteristically silent as he pulled into the parking lot of a small convenience store. Keiko reached for her doors handle, but was stopped when the usually gentle giant grabbed hold of her wrist and refused to let go.

"No." He said firmly, only letting go when she pulled back from the door, "You stay. Just give me and Urameshi a minute."

"HA! This outta be GOOD! Come on, KuwaBARA! Let's go!" Yusuke pawed at his door and finally stumbled out of the car, clumsily following a very stiff-shouldered Kuwabara into the back ally of the small store. When they were completely out of sight, Keiko let herself sink down further in her seat, and quietly cried into her hands.

Yusuke felt something collide with his cheek. He assumed it must have been a punch.

"What the hell is wrong with you, huh! Since when do you think it's ok to speak to Keiko like that? To ANY girl like that? I outta beat you till you can't think straight anymore, Urameshi!"

Another punch. It really wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that the punches kept making him lose his balance, forcing him to stagger left and right, only to be jerked back into place by Kuwabara once more.

"I've seen you do a lot of things that I didn't like Urameshi, but that's the final straw! Keiko's my friend too, ya know! I'm not gonna let you be a jerk to her like that!"

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke grabbed hold of Kuwabara's fist, glaring at him as he stepped forward and yelled into the equally angry face of his carrot topped teammate, "Well if you guys are such good _friends_, why dun you just go take her home to her little boyfriend and LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara pushed his fist against Yusuke's holding grip, successfully ramming him into the brick wall of the back ally, "So Keiko got a new boyfriend, big deal! You're the one who wanted to go to the demon world! You're the one who decided to leave ALL of us behind, with only a message now and then to make sure we knew you were even still alive!"

"I _told_ her! I told her when I got back that-I mean-"

"What? That you'd marry her? Come on Urameshi, even Kurama wasn't sure if you were actually gonna do it!" Kuwabara finally unclenched his fist and leaned away from him, his friend who suddenly appeared too pitiful for words, and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, "You know what? I don't her blame her. In fact, I'm not even surprised that she got fed up with you."

He looked away from the slight grimace of shock and hurt that splashed across Yusuke's face and continued, his words slowly melting into a disappointed mumble, "She's happy now, you know? It took her a long time to get this happy again. You should at least be man enough not to ruin that."

The pair stayed quiet for a long while, Yusuke staring in frustration down at the dirty, littered concrete below them, and Kuwabara looking anywhere that was enough to avoid his comrades' eyes. Out of the corner of his gaze he saw Yusuke's entire form start to quake, his fists balled up with pent aggravation, and with one loud, painful yell, he turned around and punched the wall with such force that it's entire middle crumbled, full bricks reduced to nothing more than puffs of powder.

Kuwabara watched as Yusuke stood there, his fist still extended in mid-punch and his head hanging low to his chest. Finally, when the clouds of dirt settled, he relaxed his body and stood straighter, as though a sudden wave of sobriety overcame him.

"Let's just get her home."

* * *

The remainder of the car ride was still, save for the occasional driving directions. Yusuke kept his forehead leaned against the window and stared at the passing pedestrians and cars, trying not to notice Keiko's red and puffy eyes. Kuwabara was right: he really was a jerk.

"Well, we're here." He murmured as they pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building. He felt the eyes of both of his comrades glued to his back as he carefully got out of the car, trying his best not to stumble or sway. He must have done an awful job, however, according to the sigh he heard from Keiko, followed by her assisting him out of the back seat. Yusuke felt Kuwabara gently place an arm over his shoulder and helped him walk up the stairs to his room, Keiko trailing quietly behind. They knocked on the door and waited patiently, but received no response, an unsuccessful jiggling of the door knob telling them that Atsuko was no longer home.

"Guess that was a waste of time…" Yusuke mumbled under his breath and leaned against the wall, prepared to sleep beside the door until his mother returned. He watched as Keiko began to shuffle items around in her purse, finally pulling out a key ring and flipping through until she came across a round silver one. She felt him eyeing her as she jammed the key into its lock, carefully turning until she heard a victorious click.

"…since when do you have a key?"

"Well, someone had to take care of Atsuko while you were away." Keiko refused to look him in the eye as she spoke, and he could hear her voice straining slightly at the attempt of sounding casual. Yet, despite her distance towards him, Yusuke still felt his heart thump just a little faster than before.

He quickly composed himself and responded with only an irritated grunt before flopping himself down on the couch, lazily kicking off his shoes in the process, "Ok, I'm home now, you guys can go kidnap someone else. How about that bartender, he could use a little roughing up…"

Kuwabara watched as Keiko appeared to ignore Yusuke's mutterings and instead began searching through the kitchen cabinets, pulling out a packet of dried noodles and a small pot.

It wasn't until she began to fill the pot with water that Yusuke seemed to notice her lack of attention to him and peered over the couch in annoyance, "Oi! What are you doing?"

"When is the last time you've eaten, Yusuke?" Keiko proceeded to ignore him as she set the stove to a medium heat. Though she still avoided his gaze, she could see him begin to grow irritated out of the corner of her eye.

"Darn it, I don't know, why?"

"You have to eat, and I don't know when Atsuko will return. This should only take a few minutes."

That thumping again. Yusuke averted his eyes from her, suddenly very interested in a stain in the couches fabric. He didn't want to risk being rude to her again, but at the same time he couldn't quite bring himself to appear thankful for her help either, so he simply said nothing and laid his head down to clear his thoughts.

"Ah…Keiko…" He heard Kuwabara attempt to whisper, "I should probably get going before sis…ah…"

"It's fine, Kuwabara. I only live a few blocks away." Keiko's voice came in reply, her tone growing softer as though it could escape Yusuke's ears, "Thank you for everything…I'm sorry you had to go through the trouble."

Yusuke felt a sharp pain in his chest. '_Trouble_', that was his best definition, everyone at school had known it, and now Keiko was finally figuring it out too.

"…you sure you'll be ok with him?"

Another sting. He deserved that one he supposed, after how he had acted, but it wasn't as if he'd ever hurt her…

"I'll be fine. Thank you…you better get home before Shizuru comes to find you."

"Ok." Yusuke felt Kuwabara's eyes burrowing in his direction, as though he could see right past the couch and drill into the back of his head, "…see you Urameshi."

He grunted a reply and waited until he heard of the click of the door before he glanced up, just in time to see Kuwabara's retreating back before he shut the door behind him. Yusuke closed his eyes and savored the quiet that took place, with only the soft bubbling of boiling water to soothe his on coming headache. It seemed as though he had been sleeping for hours when, after just a few minutes, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed on the table before him. He risked a look at Keiko's face as she laid the chop sticks beside his meal. She had the same guarded look she had that day at the restaurant, right before he left for the demon world.

Suddenly Yusuke didn't feel that noodles would agree with him anymore. Still, he pushed himself up and mumbled what was reminiscent of a thank you, all the while focusing on the light steam that rose from his bowl.

"You're welcome." Keiko could feel the awkward stiffness of her words even as she spoke them. She tried to make her way back to the kitchen to clean up her mess, but felt a hand wrap around her wrist as she attempted to turn. The beating of her heart abruptly quickened, pounding so fiercely it was as though it were next to her ear instead of safely in her chest.

Yusuke's eyes never left the calming steam as he tried to piece together words in his head, his fingers lightly griping Keiko's small wrist.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it with a fruitless expression. Finally his gaze trailed up to the girl who for so long as been his closest companion, "…Keiko…"

This seemed all too familiar. Keiko felt a large lump in her throat, her nerves trembling slightly, she gently shook her hand out of Yusuke's grip, quickly turning away so he wouldn't see how her eyes dampened, "I…I'll go get you some water."

He didn't fight her, instead letting his hand flop to his lap. Though Yusuke would likely never have admitted it, he began to feel his own eyes struggle to remain steady and grinded his teeth together, as though they could form a barrier between him and his idiotic emotions.

Meanwhile Keiko took deep, sturdy breathes as the water rushed out of the faucet. This was still her friend she was dealing with, a good friend, a friend she had known from her very earliest memories. Yusuke had always been difficult, this wasn't any sort of rough spot they couldn't get through, and soon things would be just the way they always had been. They'd argue a bit, then Yusuke would slump off, and by tomorrow it would be as if none of this had ever happened…just like old times.

It was a good thought, but when Keiko glanced up to towards the back of the Yusuke's head, once more bent intently over his bowl of soup, his words whispered in her head. '_Naggy_'…'_annoying_'…could that have been the reason he took so long to return home, because of her? Secretly, had he never wanted to be with her, had never even liked her to begin with?

A few stray tears managed to trickle down her cheek before she had the chance to rub them away with the edge of her shoulder. The cup was full, over filling actually, but she kept the faucet running, letting the noise drown out her sniffle.

"D…damn it…" Keiko heard the curse slip by Yusuke's lips and looked over at him, his shoulders hunched and bouncing slightly, as though silent sobs were making their way out of his body too. She let eyes gaze fall back down to the sink, water overlapping water as it spilled over the cups edges.

"I'm sorry…" Her whisper was barely audible above the rushing water, but Keiko still saw Yusuke's shoulders stiffen and still at her voice, "I waited…half my life I waited…"

More tears began to fall from her eyes, more than one shoulder could handle. She lightly covered her face and continued, her heart tearing at the seams with every word she spoke, "…but you never came around…even when you were here, you weren't really…you weren't here for me…"

'_I didn't mean to…_' The thoughts raced across his mind, but Yusuke lacked the courage to say them out loud. The truth was he loved her, but when it came to her, he was lost. When it came to loving a woman, he was lost. Whoever was supposed to have taught him never had, and there weren't many examples for him to follow.

'_I do though Keiko. I love you._' The reflection put a heavy weight on his chest, yet somehow it made him feel stronger as well. When minutes had passed without any sort of response from his end, Keiko finally shut off the faucet and brought his water to him, her blotchy cheeks wiped dry. Yusuke lifted his head towards her and, with all his strength gathered into one, managed a smile of sorts.

"Hey." Keiko glanced up at him nervously, red eyed and vulnerable, and Yusuke felt himself soften inside, "It's ok. I waited too long, it was my bad, I get it. You gotta go get what you want, and if that guy is it…hell, who am I to get pissed. You're happy, right?"

Keiko stared at him blankly, nothing short of shocked, and gave the slightest hint of a nod. She watched Yusuke smile at her, but could see how it never touched his eyes, '_Am I happy…?_'

"Then that's all that matters."

"Yu…" Keiko grabbed the hem of her shirt, trying to grip reality, trying not to lose herself in her emotions. It didn't work though, and fresh, though less distressed, tears spilled out. She felt her arms and legs begin to tremble, and wanted nothing more than to hug her friend.

So she did.

"Yusuke…" She cried softly into his shoulder while he awkwardly placed a hand on her back. It brought him back to a certain event years prior, with happier tears. Back then, when she had finally looked up at him, it was with a smile. He wondered how she would look at him now.

His eyes traveled all over her body, which only made him more nervous. His arm rested perfectly against the more defined curve of her waist, and her long, white skirt draped over her bottom in a way Yusuke could only call beautiful. Figures she'd do all of the good growing up while he was away, but still…

"It keeps getting _bigger_." He mumbled before he could stop himself. Yusuke froze in fear and felt Keiko do the same; though he had a suspicion her reasoning was different from his.

"…what?"

"Eh…heh heh heh…what?" Yusuke looked towards the ceiling as nervous sweat beads began to form on his forehead.

"What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You said something."

"I didn't!"

"Yusuke…you…you were LOOKING at me? NOW? In a time like this!"

Keiko's eyes were still teary as she glared up at Yusuke, her face flushed in frustration. She had his shirt balled up in her small fists, and for a moment Yusuke wondered if she planned to toss him off the couch.

"I didn't say anything, I'm telling you!" His cheeks were burning with shame as he lied and tried to squirm away from her.

"YUSUKE!"

"OK! You're butt got bigger! There, I said it! Just hit me and get on with it!" He couldn't even look at her as he confessed. Yusuke's entire face felt as though it was on fire from blushing and his body was braced for contact. He waited, but when there was no slap he cautiously opened one eye and to his surprise saw Keiko staring at him not in fury, but in bewilderment.

Then she began to laugh. It started out slow, but grew, until her shoulders shook and more tears escaped the corners of her eyes. Yusuke warily joined in, which only prompted her to laugh harder, and eventually they were both laughing heartily. They even had to lean against each other for support, just to stop from falling off of the couch. It was a wonderful release from all the tension that had been built, and for the first time since he had returned home, Yusuke felt like he could breathe easy again.

"Yusuke…" He looked over at Keiko, a smile on her face, "…no more drinking, ok?"

Yusuke gave a sheepish grin, but nodded.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"That's not a promise, Yusuke."

He rolled his eyes and gently pushed her away, snatching up his bowl of cooled off noodles, "Ok, geeze! I promise! Ya happy now?"

"Yes." The answer came so quickly, so firmly, that Yusuke did a double take at her. She was still smiling, and she did look…happy. He pushed down a negative thought and forced himself to eat his food instead.

"Great, now go be happy somewhere else so I can eat."

"Ehhh! I'm the one who made you the food to begin with!"

"So give yourself a pat on the back, I'm eating it!"

"Not with that tone your not!"

"What tone!"

They squabbled for the rest of the night until Atsuko came home and promptly began to cry and beat the newly sobered up Yusuke. When Keiko left, she gave him a smile, and he returned it before being smacked upside the head once again. She gave a small giggle and shut the door behind her, but on her walk home, her smile began to fade, the recent events playing over and over in her mind as she came closer to home. She tried to resolve herself before her walk came to an end, yet by the time she was turning the knob to her front door the question that rang in her head was still left unanswered.

'_Am I happy?_'

* * *

_Authors Note: I'm sorry this took sooo incredibly long! It's been sitting half written on my computer forever...but I fully intend to finish this story! Someday...only one or two chapters left to go! Thank you so much for all those who still stuck by my story, it means a lot, and it's because of you that it's still being continued! Again, thank you!_


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